The Tathāgatas of past, present, and future intrinsically lead sentient beings to be exposed to the Buddha’s knowledge and insight and attain the patience which comes from [realizing the truth of] non-arising. [The Buddha] appears in this world through the conditioned co-arising of his great deeds.

The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra-upadeśa says, “The meaning of the lotus blossom arising out of the water cannot be exhausted. Those of the Hinayāna are detached from the muddy and defiled waters [of secular life]. Therefore the Tathāgata enters into and sits among the great crowd of people. It is like all bodhisattvas who sit on lotus flowers [in the pure land] and listen to the preaching of the unsurpassed pure wisdom.”⁵⁸⁵ They never sit on the leaves of the lotus. Thus all of these bodhisattvas hear the preaching of the one perfect way, are enlightened concerning the one perfect result [of Buddhahood], dwell in the realm of the [lotus] flower-king, and like the Buddha Vairocana sit on the Lotus Blossom Throne [of enlightenment]. This is the intention of the Buddha.

[Bodhisattvas of good faculties] already enter the Lotus Throne when they first see the [Buddha] body and first hear the one truth.⁵⁸⁶ The Sudden Teaching is exposed gradually for the sake of those who have not yet entered [the Lotus Throne of enlightenment]. Various skillful means assist in manifesting the supreme meaning to explain all of [the understandings of] the two truths, at times as one, at times as many, at times as beyond conceptual thought. [The methods and teachings are] various and not the same, but they are all skillful means for the sake of attaining the Lotus Throne. The Tathāgata is eternally quiescent yet his transformations fill the universe. Truly he does not discriminate, such as first [deliberately] planning and then taking action, in working to save others. With his innate powers of goodness and compassion, [the Buddha spontaneously] leads all sentient beings to enter [the Lotus Throne of enlightenment].

585

See the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra-upadeśa, T. 3a10-15. return

586

The Fa hua hsüan i shih ch’ien [Annotations on The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra]says that this refers to the bodhisattvas of clever faculties in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. Thus this sentence refers to the preaching of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra immediately after the Buddha’s enlightenment in which he directly explained the content of his enlightenment. Those with ears to hear were able to understand, but most were not able to comprehend what the Buddha was saying. Thus the Buddha went to the Deer Park and preached the Hinayāna Tripiṭaka Teaching. return